In the fully automated processing of single or connected sausage portions, e.g. when supplying packaging device, it is often necessary to collate the individual sausages or e.g. sausages connected in pairs, that are transported transversely to their longitudinal axis spaced apart on a transport belt to form groups of a predetermined number of portions and to further convey them as complete groups, for example, to a packaging machine. This has previously been achieved in that an accumulator pusher moveable transversely to the direction of transport is positioned stationarily upstream of the first portion or in the gap between two portions and stops and accumulates the subsequent portion until the desired number of portions of a group have been accumulated. The group is then again released and transported onward. The accumulator pusher is then repositioned in the gap between the last sausage of the group to be created and the subsequent first sausage of the subsequent next group.
However, it happens again and again in prior art that the round sausages—straight or curved—turn, rub against each other when being pushed and therefore roll on top of each other so that the sausage group no longer has one layer but uncontrolled multiple layers. It also happens when removing the pusher accumulator that the sausages of a sausage group do not remain correctly aligned.
Starting out from there, the present invention is based on the object to provide a sausage collating device and a respective method that allows collating sausages in a reliable and simple manner to form sausage groups.
The sausage collating device according to the invention for collating sausages to form sausage groups having a predetermined number of sausages comprises a transport device for transporting the sausages being spaced from each other. A respective transport device can be, for example, a transport belt. In addition, at least one accumulator element is provided for accumulating the sausages, this means that the sausages are pushed together at the accumulator element by the transport belt such that they are no longer spaced from one another. The at least one accumulator element is advantageously configured such that it is for collating and is movable in the direction of transport T of the transport device, i.e. can move together with the transport device in the direction of transport T. Due to the fact that the accumulating element is movable in the direction of the transport device, the velocity difference between the accumulating element and the transport device can be reduced or eliminated. Large friction between the surface of the conveyor and the sausage surface or the resting surface of the sausage, respectively, can thereby be prevented so that the sausages no longer turn, do not rub against each other and no longer roll over one another when accumulating, so that precise single-layer sausage groups can be produced.
The size of the sausage groups, i.e. the number of sausages per group can also be changed during operation.
Furthermore, the sausages do not after collating need to be accelerated from a standstill to the velocity of the transport device, so that it can be prevented that sausages roll apart. In addition, the advantage arises that the sausages are, after collating and when the sausage group is brought back to the transport device velocity, supported by at least one accumulator element and thereby held in position.
The sausage collating device advantageously comprises at least two individually drivable accumulator elements. Due to the fact that the accumulator elements are individually driven, consecutive accumulator elements, i.e. for example, a first accumulator element in the direction of transport located upstream of the first sausage of a sausage group and an accumulator element that is in the direction of transport located downstream of the last sausage of a sausage group, can be driven at different velocities such that an upstream accumulator element decelerates the sausages and a downstream accumulator element pushes the sausages in the direction of transport. For this purpose, a first drive device may be provided for at least one first accumulator element and a second drive device for at least one second accumulator element. The first and the second accumulator element can each be inserted alternately one after the other between the sausages at the respective sausage group boundaries.
The first and/or the second drive device comprises a revolving conveying member, such as a revolving belt, on which the respective at least one accumulator element is arranged, i.e. is mounted. This means that the sausage collating device according to an example embodiment comprises a belt system comprising at least two belts running parallel, to each of which at least one accumulator element is attached. Also several accumulator elements can in particular be mounted to each one revolving conveying member, in particular, belts. Such a structure is simple and inexpensive to implement.
The at least one accumulator element can according to one example embodiment in its motion during collation run in the direction of transport spaced from the surface of the transport device. The conveying member or belt is, for example, disposed such that it runs parallel to the transport device. If the accumulator element does not contact the surface of the transport device, then no friction loss arises between the accumulator element and the transport device and the accumulator element can move freely in its track.
The transport device is according to an example embodiment configured as an accumulation roller belt between the sausages or sausage groups, respectively, and the transport device can thereby be reduced even more. An accumulation roller belt is a revolving closed chain which is equipped with freely rotatable rollers on which the sausages rest. If the sausages are stopped or slowed down by the accumulator element, then the chain continues moving and the rollers rotate underneath the sausages.
It is advantageous to have the sausage collating device comprise a control device as well as a sensor device, where the sensor device can detect an arriving sausage and can send a corresponding signal to the control device. The positions of the arriving sausages are thereby known as a function of time, since also the transport velocity of the transport device is known.
The control device can therefore calculate the positions of the successively arriving sausages. However, it is also possible that the position is not calculated via the signal generated by the sensor, but that the control device knows these positions from the preceding process steps and calculates and initiates further treatment steps based thereupon. Consequently, a respective accumulator element can engage exactly between the last sausage of a first group and the first sausage of a subsequent group. This means that the drive device can be actuated in dependence of the collating assignment, i.e. in dependence of the sausage caliber, the distance of the sausages and the number of sausages in a sausage group.
The controller is according to the invention configured such that the accumulator elements are each drivable at varying velocity, meaning that—where the accumulator elements are configured as being revolving—the velocity during one revolution is not constant. The velocity of the respective accumulator element can thereby during collation be adapted precisely to the respective process step.
It is advantageous to have the revolving conveying members, in particular belts, run around more than two wheels, in particular, around three wheels, where optionally the length l of the section of the conveying members, in which the accumulator elements can move parallel to the transport device, can be adjusted in that the position of at least two wheels is variable.
If two of the wheels are adjustable, then the active length l can be adjusted without the need to employ a new revolving conveying member, i.e. another belt having a different length. This is particularly advantageous.
Sausages spaced from each other are in a method for collating sausages in groups with a predetermined number of sausages conveyed transverse to their longitudinal direction on a transport device and accumulated with at least one accumulator element. This means that the distance of the spaced sausages is there reduced to zero or the sausages are even somewhat squeezed together. At least one accumulator element is according to the invention for collating at least temporarily moved in the direction of transport.
At least two individually driven accumulator elements are there used to collate the sausages.
A first accumulator element is in the method according to the invention optionally inserted upstream of the first sausage of a sausage group and moves at least temporarily at a velocity of V1<Vtransport device. A subsequent second accumulator element is according to an example embodiment inserted downstream of the last sausage of the sausage group to be created and moves at least temporarily at a velocity V2>Vtransport device, where Vtransport device corresponds to the velocity of the transport device at which the sausages are transported.
This means that the sausages can be accumulated, i.e. be decelerated by a first accumulator element while the sausages can by a subsequent accumulator element be pushed in the direction of transport in such a manner that the distance between the sausages is reduced. If two accumulator elements are used for collating, between which the sausages are located, then the upstream accumulator element does not need to decelerate the sausages that much, so that the velocity difference between the decelerated sausage and the transport velocity of the transport device can be reduced. In addition, the sausages can be held reliably in position between the two accumulator elements.
If the distance between the first and the second accumulator element in the method according to the invention corresponds approximately to the product of sausage caliber and number of sausages per sausage group, then the velocity V1, V2 of the two accumulator elements can be adjusted to the velocity Vtransport device of the transport device, this means that the sausages are held by the two accumulator elements and are simultaneously returned to the same transport velocity. It can thereby be effectively prevented that the sausages roll when accelerated to belt velocity. The sausage group can during this synchronous travel be stabilized and calmed. The sausage group is held together in a compact manner.
Once the sausage group has been created, in particular after the synchronous travel, the first accumulator element, being located in the direction of transport upstream of the first sausage of the group, can be moved at a velocity V1>Vtransport device and thereby be conveyed away from the region through which the sausage groups move. The upstream accumulator element can therefore move away from the sausage group and release the sausage group.
The second subsequent accumulator element located downstream of the last sausage of the sausage group can then be decelerated to a velocity V2<Vtransport device to create a further subsequent sausage group by accumulation. It is even possible that the velocity of the accumulator element is there so greatly reduced such that it is at a standstill before the accumulator element contacts the first sausage of the subsequent sausage group, or is moved against the direction of transport T. However, once the accumulator element contacts the first sausage of the subsequent sausage group, it likewise moves in the direction of transport T in order to keep the velocity difference small between the sausage and the transport device. This means that the second downstream accumulator element for creating the first sausage group can be used as an upstream accumulator element for the subsequent group. This enables a continuous process.